


My Own Master

by thetransgirlwhoneverwas



Series: Fictober 2020 [7]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:55:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26880085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetransgirlwhoneverwas/pseuds/thetransgirlwhoneverwas
Summary: There comes a time in every story to pass on what has been learned to the next generation of Keyblade wielders, and Aqua finds herself with a new generation in need of lessons learned outside the necessities of war.
Series: Fictober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952200
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	My Own Master

Though Aqua had sent out the call to anyone in Twilight Town who was available, she had only received one reply. Roxas, Hayner, Pence and Olette were busy investigating the remainder of the simulation still connected to the town, and Lea and Isa were hunting some stray Reaper Nobodies sighted in the back streets. Only Xion had been able to heed her summons, and was on route to the Land of Departure.

Aqua awaited her arrival while Ven and Terra checked their supplies. They had a potentially very long journey ahead of them. Aqua watched them unable to stay on task for more than 30 seconds at a time and a contented laugh escaped. For as many conversations she had had with herself during her time in the Realm of Darkness, she had no words to describe how much she had missed this.

Her gaze was caught by a sight rapidly becoming familiar, and her thoughts turned to the Keyblade she stood beside, embedded in the ground. Almost everything was back to how it was, but there was one thing they would never get back no matter how hard they wished. Eraqus was not coming back.

When Xion arrived, removing the black coat she still needed to travel between worlds, Aqua didn’t notice at first, caught up as she was in the nostalgia the grave had trapped her in.

“Master Aqua?” Xion asked as she approached, snapping Aqua’s thoughts back to the present.

“Oh!” she turned away from the memorial and faced the arrival. “Xion, thanks for coming at short notice.”

“Of course, Master Aqua,” Xion answered, smiling faintly.

“Please, just call me Aqua,” Aqua encouraged her. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Y-yes, of course,” Xion answered. Despite her incredible magical prowess and how much she had grown, Aqua knew that Xion was still a little shy around anyone who wasn’t Roxas or Lea.

“Anyway, the reason I called you here is because Terra, Ven and I are going to the Realm of Darkness,” Aqua explained, and Xion recoiled in shock.

“But Mas-but Aqua,” Xion stuttered slightly, “isn’t that dangerous? And are you going to be okay after...after…?” Xion trailed off, but the question didn’t need asking in its entirety. She had avoided talking about it too much, but all the Guardians knew how often Aqua still had nightmares about her time trapped in Darkness.

“Yes, I spent a lot of time there,” Aqua reassured her. “And I’m not going to pretend it will be easy. But Sora and Riku saved me from the Dark. There might be a clue, a lead, something that will lead us to bringing Sora back. I owe him that much to try.”

“...okay,” Xion nodded. “I understand.”

“While we’re gone, it will be up to you to counter any threats to this realm,” Aqua continued. “We’ll be okay, we’ll be protected, but there’s some preparations we’ll need to make before we go, and we’re hoping that the Twilight Town gang can help us out before we do.”

“Of course,” Xion nodded again, immediately, and more confidently this time. “We’ll do whatever we can to help out.” 

“Thank you!” Aqua beamed, and Xion’s expression brightened a little. “We’re going to have to strengthen our Keyblades, and our armour could do with some extra defences too, but we can deal with that later.”

“Your armour?” Xion asked. “Do you mean the black coats?”

“Hmm? No, I’ve never actually worn one of those,” Aqua realised. “Here, let me show you.” She held her hand to the pauldron on her shoulder, and light flashed from it. When the light faded, Aqua was clad in her blue armour, Keyblade in hand, a figure of strength and grace.

“Whoa,” Xion admired the armour. “I didn’t realise you could do that. I still have to wear the black coat. I did have armour, but that was only when Roxas and I...the Organisation…” she trailed off. Aqua didn’t push the question. She didn’t know much about Roxas and Xion’s time with the original Organisation XIII, but she knew enough to know that it wasn’t something to discuss lightly.

“I learned how to summon mine from my Master,” Aqua explained, changing the subject. “Terra and Ven too.”

“Your Master?” Xion asked.

“Yes,” Aqua replied, her face falling a little. “Master Eraqus was our teacher, our...he was like a father. He taught us everything we know. But now…” Aqua didn’t mean to, she meant to hold Xion’s gaze, but her eyes darted unbidden to the grave.

“I...I’m sorry,” Xion said, now just as downcast. “I never had a Master. The closest thing was Xemnas, and he never taught me anything except defeat the Heartless or be erased.”

“I...I’m sorry,” Aqua repeated Xion’s words back to her. “Xemnas was cruel. You didn’t deserve that.”

“How did he die? If you don’t...I mean…”

“It’s okay,” Aqua said. “It...it was Xehanort.”

Xion said nothing in return, but she didn’t need to. It was another constant with the Guardians. Whenever they spoke about all they had gone through, the throughline with all the hardships all of them had ever suffered. In the end, it always came back to Xehanort.

“I wish I could have a suit of armour like yours,” it was Xion’s turn to change the subject. “I still have so much to learn.”

Before Aqua could even realise she was saying it, the words escaped from her mouth: “I could teach you.”

Xion’s face brightened. “You...you would?”

Aqua stumbled on the words she had just said almost inadvertently, but as she thought about it, the thought had merit. It had never even been something she considered, she hadn’t had time, but now, unbidden but not unwelcome, the idea of taking students of her own had planted itself in her mind and was refusing to leave, and as the idea planted more and more roots in her thoughts, the more Aqua liked the idea.

“We’ve got a long journey,” she explained. “But once I’m back, I would be honoured to take you on as a student. Roxas too, if he’d like.”

“I...wow,” Xion considered it. “My own Master.”

“Take some time to think about it-” Aqua started, but she was interrupted.

“No, I, I’d like that,” Xion said, the most excited and confident Aqua had ever seen her. “I’d love that. Thank you! Thank you, Master Aqua! I won’t let you down!”

Master Aqua. Though she had owned the title for some time, it had never really been how she had thought of herself. Maybe, she realised, it was time that changed. Time to pass on her knowledge to the next generation. She looked back at the grave of her own Master, and hoped Eraqus was proud.

And somewhere, in a world beyond the Realms of Light and Darkness, Eraqus watched his former student with pride.


End file.
